Storm shorts East Coast blood supply

WASHINGTON – Hurricane Sandy has caused a blood supply shortage after dozens of blood drives were canceled because of the storm.

About 100 blood drives have been canceled in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast because blood donor sites lost power and donors did not want to go out in the stormy weather, says Cheryl Kravitz with the National Capital Region chapter of the American Red Cross.

So far, the blood drive cancellations have resulted in a shortfall of more than 3,200 blood and platelet donations.

The Red Cross is asking people in areas of the country not touched by Hurricane Sandy, now a post-tropical cyclone, to help make up for the shortages and to schedule an appointment.

“People need blood when they need blood. And we need to have the blood on the shelves beforehand because it has to be processed of course. So we need to make sure the blood is there,” Kravitz tells WTOP.